Aftermath
by Squigglesionian
Summary: What happened after Chosen. This is how I think things should have happened.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except for the ones that I have added to the story. They all belong to Joss, I'm just playing with them for a while.

A/N : For the benefit of this story lets pretend that Angel turned down Lyla's offer, Buffy and the gang didn't go to Rome and that Cordy woke up from her coma shortly after the fight with Jasmine. The story picks up from that moment.

****************************************************************************

September 13th

Wesley stared at Angel, confused by his reaction.

"Angel did you hear what I said? Cordelia just woke up. She's asking for you." Wesley repeated. Angel was still staring out of the double doors, a confused expression on his face. "Is everything alright?" He asked. Angel nodded, pulling his eyes away from the doors and trying to muster a smile for Wesley.

"Fine. Everything's fine. I just…Something feels…different." He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He was probably just over-reacting. The trouble was over now. He should relax. Go spend some time with Cordy. He turned without saying another word to Wes and walked up the stairs towards her room.

Wesley watched him go and shrugged as Gunn walked into the Lobby.

"Somehow I don't think that's the look of a happy man." Gunn said placing his newly cleaned axe in the weapons cabinet. Wesley shrugged again.

"He says that he feels something is wrong. But I don't know what he…" Wesley stopped staring at the double doors and the person who stood there. Gunn stared at the small blonde girl in their doorway, with a suitcase by her feet. She was looking at Wesley a little shyly.

"Hey Wes." She said simply. Wesley nodded in recognition.

"Good evening Buffy."

"Buffy?" Gunn repeated walking up to her and shaking her hand. "You're Buffy? The Buffy?" She nodded, a little red in the face.

"That's me. And I have a small favor to ask." She added turning her attention back to Wesley. "Is he here?" Wes nodded.

"He knew you were coming, he felt it." Wes said, the pieces of the puzzle making sense to him suddenly, "Even if he didn't quite know what he was feeling. He's upstairs, room 109." Buffy nodded to Wes and headed up the flight of stairs Wes had indicated.

What was she doing here. She could have gone anywhere she wanted, but she ended up on his doorstep. She followed her instincts. She may not know her way around the hotel, but she could find him anywhere. She stopped briefly outside the door to room 109. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Whatever she had expected to see, it wasn't this. Angel was locked in an embrace with a brunette. When they jumped apart she was nearly sick to discover that it was Cordelia. She hoped her surprise and slight disgust didn't show n her face as she continued.

"Wesley told me to come up. I guess I should have knocked first." She tried to make it sound casual. But Angel looked mortified. Buffy also couldn't help but notice that Cordy had a smug smile on her face. Buffy's hands itched to wipe that smile off her face permanently. It took all her strength to keep her hands at her sides as she continued. "Have you got a minute?" She asked Angel, motioning outside the door. He nodded quickly and followed her out of the room without looking back at Cordy who was busy glaring at the back of Buffy's blonde head to notice.

Once out in the hallway Buffy turned round to face Angel, he spoke first,

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I didn't want you to.."

"I need a favor." Buffy said quickly, cutting him off. She didn't want to listen to him apologize for moving on. It wasn't his fault that she couldn't form a normal healthy relationship. She was going to force herself to be happy for him.

"What do you need?" He asked, sincere, as he always was when she needed something from him. Buffy shuffled her feet and stared at the floor. Hoping that she wasn't about to sound really cheeky asking for his help.

"We need a place to stay. Sunnydale has been totally destroyed. We won't stay long." Angel was smiling at her, his lopsided smile that could halt her speech mid flow.

"You can stay for as long as you like. I know you've had a lot on your hands." Buffy laughed bitterly.

"You have no idea. You also do not understand what you have just let yourself in for."

An hour later Angel stood in the lobby with the entire Scooby gang and about thirty girls littering his floor. Fred had gone upstairs half an hour ago to start making some rooms up. Gunn was deep in conversation with Faith and Cordy was in her room, sulking.

"I owe you so bad for this." Buffy said smiling at him. Angel chuckled.

"Yeah, you do."

"Would you mind showing me where I can shower. I have a horrible feeling I smell like apocalypse and you should know that's not an attractive aroma." She said wrinkling her nose up. Angel wanted to tell her that she smelt fine, just the way she always had. Perfect, but instead he lead her upstairs.

"The water hasn't been properly linked to the other rooms yet. So until Wes sorts that out later you can use my shower." He said trying to stop his hand shaking as he opened the door to his room. Buffy's hearted quickened as she followed him in and silently cursed herself knowing he would be able to hear it. She dumped her bag down on his large bed and looked around appreciatively.

"I like it." She said simply, taking n the dark colors and antique furnishings. "It suits you." Angel smiled, he considered it strange that he was glad she liked his home. Would it really have mattered if she didn't? Of course it would.

"The showers through there." He said pointing to the door for his bathroom. They both stood there in an awkward silence for a second then Buffy rifled through her bag and pulled out some fresh clothes and her washbag.

"I really do appreciate what you're doing for me Angel." She said, staring him directly in the eye. "You help me whenever I ask for it, and you don't ask for anything in return. You really don't have to." She said, aware that she was beginning to babble.

"Yes I do." He said before leaving her to shower, heading back down to the corridor to Cordy's room. He could only guess that amount of groveling he was about to have to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and alerts. The more you review the quicker I write.**

**As I told some of my reviewers, this fic will be B/A eventually. You just need to be patient.**

Angel took a deep, unnecessary breath outside of the door to Cordy's room. He knew that she was going to be unimaginably upset with him. But what else could he have done. It wasn't like he could tell Buffy to leave. It was Buffy. He could never tell her to leave. He could hear the girls that she had brought with her begin to filter through his home to their new rooms. It was going to be weird having so much company, but her, he would live through a lot worse then this. He took an extra second to gather himself together then opened the door.

Cordy was sitting on her bed. Her arms folded defensively in front of her chest. She looked pissed. Angel opened his mouth to apologize but she cut him off.

"You couldn't drop everything fast enough to help her could you. She just comes in here, batters her eyelashes at you and that's it. You run after her like a golden retriever. I don't understand it." She was standing now, jabbing a finger rather painfully into his silk clad chest.

"I couldn't just leave her and the girls on the streets Cordelia." He knew it was a pitiful defence. However he didn't think she was up to hearing the real reason. He knew that they would have a good thing going on between them if he let them. But now Buffy was here. Didn't that change things?

"I hope that's all it was. I'm not really up for fighting her for your attention. We have something here Angel. Don't let her ruin it now." Her voice was a lot softer now. She raised a hand to his cheek and guided his head down to hers for a light kiss. Just in time for Faith to walk in the room.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She shrieked, clapping her hand over her mouth the second the words made it out. Realising that she hadn't meant to say the words out loud and had failed. Cordy just rolled her eyes and stormed passed her. Yelling Angel she was going to take a shower.

Faith swore she had never seen Angel look so scared, He ran passed Cordy and chased her down the hall but was to late. He arrived in his own room just in time to see Cordy discover Buffy in his shower. Faith made it into the room in time to see Cordy slap him across the face before she breezed passed her again back to her own room. Faith chuckled.

"Glad to see that she's grown as a person and isn't holding any old grudges." Angel smiled at her;

"She'll come round. She always does. She's just a little shocked to see Buffy here that's all. She'll calm down in a couple days." Faith smirked, unsure of if he was trying to convince her, or himself of this fact.

Buffy walked out of the bathroom to see Angel and Faith staring at each other. Rubbing a towel through her long hair she said,

"Should my ears be burning?" Angel looked automatically guilty,

"Cordy is out for blood." Faith explained, inching her way to the door, trying to tactfully make her exit. "I'll leave you two to talk." She backed the rest of the way out the room and shut the door behind her.

"I'm sorry if I'm making life hard for you." Buffy said hanging her wet towel over the top of the bathroom door, remembering with a smile how much Angel hated wet towels being put on his expensive furniture and bed sheets.

"Cordy's just protective." He said, realising to late that he didn't really want to defend her. Buffy smirked at his confused expression,

"You don't sound to sure about that. If it's a problem I could stay somewhere else. I could ask my father if I could stay with him. " She said, praying with every fibre of her being he would say she could stay.

"It's fine." He answered, a little too quickly. "It's my home, I get to decide who stays here and I say you stay." Buffy couldn't help but smile a little at his out burst. He wanted her to stick around. That was a good sign right?

"So…" Buffy said, eager to change the subject, "Unless you want me to sleep on your couch, could you show me to my room?" Angel smiled; he had wrestled with this decision for a while. He hadn't known quite where to put her. He wanted her close but not so close that Cody would accuse him of something. In the end his need to have her close had won out and he told Fred to make up the room opposite his for Buffy.

"Sure." He answered, "It's just across the hall." He took an old bronze key out of the pocked of his slacks and passed it to her. Buffy looked up at him from under her eyelashes.

"Don't I get a tour?"

"He's with Cordelia? You're sure?" Willow asked, her mouth gaping open. Faith nodded, looking a little less shocked, but a little more disgusted.

"Absolutely sure, totally sure." She wanted to scrub the inside of her brain to get the image of them kissing out of her mind. That was not what she wanted to be thinking about when she finally got to lie down and sleep later. Even she had a limit to what she could stomach.

"What the hell does he see in her?" Willow said, her voice raising a little, enough for Wesley to look her way. So she quickly returned her voice to a whisper, "Does Buffy know?" Faith nodded,

"Yep. Taking it all in her stride." Willow made a 'yeah right' expression but ended the conversation. Angel was coming down the stairs and she didn't want him to know that they were talking about him.

Buffy sat, exhausted on the bed in her room. He had given her a room much like his own, only a little less personalised. She noted also that he had placed one of his own bedspreads on the bed, apologizing for the fact the room had no heat. That had made her smile. Even in September, LA wasn't cold enough to need heat. She lay her head down on the pillow and tried not to think about him and Cordy. But her brain betrayed her. The image of him and her was imbedded on her minds eye. She could feel him, downstairs. She could always feel him when he was close. She didn't sleep, until she heard him walking down the corridor to his room. She felt ridiculous pretending to sleep when he stuck his head through the door to check on her, an odd thing for him to do. However, his closeness was all it took for her relax enough for her to drift off to sleep. She swore though, that before the darkness took her she heard him whisper

"Goodnight beloved."


	3. Chapter 3

September 14th

Even though she could see the sunlight creeping out from under the curtains, Buffy couldn't quite force herself to get out of bed. She lay there in a blissful state of semi-consciousness before the door burst open and a very angry Andrew stood before her, is hands on his hips.

"Can you please go downstairs and convince the owner of this establishment that it is completely safe for me to use his immensely over sized kitchen. We have thirty very hungry girls waiting for their daily berry pancake fix." Buffy groaned, as much as she, as well as everyone else loved Andrews handmade, from scratch, berry pancakes, she was liking her bed a whole lot more right now. "Buffy now." Andrew pleaded. She sighed again and dragged herself to her feet.

"I'll be down in five minutes. Hold the rabble off until then."

After she was dressed and standing on the landing that overlooked the lobby, she had to stand and admire the view. Angel was standing with his arms crossed across his chest. Literally daring any of the girls to try and het passed him. Buffy chuckled and he automatically looked up to her.

"It's alright Angel." She smiled at him, reveling in the ability to say his name again, for the first time in such a long while. "Andrew knows his way around a kitchen. We nominated him our in house chef back in Sunnydale." He looked at her, uncertain for a few seconds then stepped aside and let him and several of the potentials through into the kitchen

"Never took you for the territorial type." Buffy said, descending the stars and accepting the steaming cup of coffee Angel held out for her. Angel chuckled.

"We let Cordy try out the kitchen a little while ago, big mistake." He said, smirking.

"I heard that."

Buffy and Angel spun round to see Cordelia coming down the stairs. She sauntered straight to Angel and planted a not so subtle kiss on his lips. Faith walked passed and chuckled,

"Geez Cor, don't they feed you at home." Cordy pulled away and aimed a swat at Faith's arm. But she easily dodged it and rolled her eyes. Sniffing appreciatively at the air she said to Buffy,

"Andrew making breakfast?" Buffy nodded and Faith happily trotted off into the kitchen.

After breakfast, Fred and Gunn suggested that, for all those who didn't know their way around, they would take them on a tour of the city, let them get to know their surroundings. As it turned out, ever the ones who knew where they were going jumped at the chance for a field trip. Leaving only the people who could be considered in charge to occupy the hotel. Giles and Wesley were happy to spend the day holed up in Wes' office catching up and comparing notes. Faith had gone with the girls to keep them in line, and Cordy was back upstairs sulking leaving Buffy and Angel downstairs in the lobby in an awkward silence. Breathing in the delicious smells of Andrews continuous baking.

After nearly an hour of sitting in silence Buffy got to her feet, so fast t made Angel jump.

"I have some energy to burn. Do you have somewhere I could train?" She asked, stretching her arm muscles. Angel nodded and gestured to the door to his tripped out basement. He had even fixed a lock on the inside of the door. He didn't like people interrupting his training.

"On one condition." Angel said, his hand on the door handle. "I get to join in." Buffy grinned at him and headed down the stairs, tying her hair into a loose pony tail as she went.

Buffy tried really hard not to stare when Angel removed his shirt and took up a defensive position on the other end of the padded mat on the floor.

"No holding back." He said, smirking a little. Buffy nodded once and stepped towards him. He struck out first and the dance began. Buffy hadn't had a work out like this in years. He really made her work to stay on her feet. Even back when she used to train with Reilly and more recently with Spike, they had all made it too easy for her. She remembered the nights she and Angel would train in his mansion back in Sunnydale, in front of his open fire. It used to be a way for them to vent some of the sexual tension that would build up between them. As well as a way to build up a whole lot more. Now, fighting him again, she could understand why. It was hard to stand opposite him now and not pay attention to the way his muscles flexed when he moved; the way the sweat glistened on his skin. The second she let the thoughts enter her head she found herself flat on her back, Angel was leaning over her his hand lightly to her throat. She was breathing heavily and couldn't help noticing that his face was only mere inches from hers. She could smell his skin.

"C'mon guys, we've only been here a day."

Angel jumped to his feet when he heard Xander's voice from the top of the stairs and cursed himself for not locking the door. Granted the distraction had been just what he had needed at that moment to stop him doing something stupid. Not something he would regret, just something stupid. Buffy got to her feet shakily as well, blushing furiously.

"We were training." She said defensively. Wrapping her arms around her stomach, something Angel remembered she did in situations that made her uncomfortable. Xander raised an eyebrow suspiciously and just nodded.

"Giles is asking for you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again for all the reviews I'm getting. And again I want to assure everyone that this will be a B/A pairing, you just need to be patient and give it some time.**

Buffy tried her hardest to stifle a groan as she heaved her now aching muscles back up the stairs to the lobby where, it seemed, a lot more people then just Giles were waiting for her. The entire gang was standing there, plus Angel's friends, even Cordy. Buffy shifted uncomfortably under her fiery gaze.

"Nice of you to join us." Giles said, looking a little agitated. Buffy nodded,

"We were training." She reaffirmed for all of those who were still looking at them suspiciously. Giles smiled, amused.

"Xander informed us." He paused for a second, and then took a deep breath. "Wesley and I have just heard word from London. The remaining watchers who were not killed in the explosion have reformed the counsel." This time Buffy did groan, as did Faith. Buffy even felt Angel stiffen beside her.

"What did they want?" Willow asked, sounding a whole bunch calmer then Buffy felt. The watchers counsel hardly ever made an effort to contact their slayer and if they id, it usually wasn't a good thing.

"They have heard of our accomplishments in Sunnydale and wanted to congratulate us." Giles said, looking very uneasy. Angel stepped forward.

"And?"

"They also heard of the spell that we casted and are highly distressed about the idea of there being thousands of untrained slayers running loose." Giles paused again, then seemed unable to continue. Wesley finished for him.

"Seeing as it was us… or more accurately you who are responsible for this. They also feel that we should be responsible for their immediate locating and upkeep." Buffy stared at Wesley like he had been speaking another language.

"They want us to find and train them." Angel clarified, smirking a little at her bemused expression.

"You have got to be kidding." Faith said. "We already look after thirty of them. We didn't have space as it was. I doubt we have enough money to buy or rent anywhere that will be big enough for all of them. They just want us to turn and ask them for help." Faith was pacing, irate.

"You can all stay here."

Everyone turned to look at Angel. Wesley seemed to consider the plan for a few minutes then nodded.

"It would make sense. With two champions under one roof, I doubt there is anywhere on the planet safer then here right now." Angel nodded. Buffy was still staring at him in disbelief. She had only intended to be here a few days and now he was offering to let them stay indefinitely. She wanted to kiss him, only that would break one of her very solid self-control rules.

"Can I speak to you for a second?" Buffy asked Angel, pulling his arm towards the stairs, where they would be able to speak in private. He nodded mutely and followed her without argument. Buffy was well aware that everyone was staring at them as she stopped on the first floor landing. "Are you sure about this? I don't want to force you to do this because you feel like you owe me or something." Angel smirked and laid a hand on her cheek,

"I'm doing this to help you. I want to help you. Plus Wes is right, with both of us here those girls are safer then they would be anywhere else." Buffy listened to his words and tried not to focus too much on the way her skin was tingling where he was touching her. Buffy sighed and turned to Giles.

"When do we start?" Giles suddenly looked uneasy again..

"They group of girls that they've managed to round up around London arrive on a seven thirty plane tomorrow morning." Buffy nodded trying not to look panicked.

"How many?"

"Fifty." Wesley said nonchalantly before walking back into his office for what Buffy hoped was a mental breakdown. That's what she was going to do when she locked herself in her room later.

Angel seemed to take it all in his stride.

"Fred would you and Cordy mind taking some of the girls downtown and buying in some more food and supplies. It seems we are going to be little busier then usual." Fred nodded and rounded up four volunteers from Buffy's ranks to join her and Cordy. Before leaving Cordy walked to the top of the stairs and opened her mouth ready to let Buffy have it but Angel placed a hand on her shoulder, silencing her. "Please, just do it for me." Cordy nodded silently and followed Fred and the girls out the doors opposite. Buffy couldn't help feeling guilty. Cordy had a good thing going here and was clearly on the verge of some huge life changes. Then she had turned up and spun her life on its head. She would have to make an effort to be nice to Cordy. Even if she was spending snuggle time with her ex honey.

Buffy had needed to shower again badly. She had worked so much sweat and tension into her clothes while training with Angel that she had simply threw the clothes away. After an hour of letting the hot water wash away all the stress and sexual tension she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in one of the fluffy white towels that hung on the back of the door. She nearly had a heart attack when she walked out of his bathroom and found Angel sitting on his bed. She did a mental check that she was properly covered before speaking to him,

"Some people would think it rude to hang around outside when someone is showering." She couldn't put the correct amount of harshness in the sentence and ended up smiling at him rather then glaring. He smiled at her back and motioned at a pile of bags by the bathroom door.

"I asked Fred to pick you up some things while they were downtown. You couldn't have packed a lot when you left home and from the looks of it the stuff you have is pretty beat up." Buffy walked wearily to the bags and peeped inside. He had given Fred all her sizes and she had picked out some amazing things. Buffy pulled out a pair of faux faded jeans and a deep blue blouse, returning to the bathroom to get changed. When she came out she observed herself in the mirror. He had guessed her sizes well. The clothes fit amazingly. She walked over to the bad and gave him a hug, smiling when he returned the embrace.

They sat like that for what was probably too long, but didn't jump apart this time when Faith walked in the room.

"Sorry to break this up guys but Fred and Cordy are asking for you, they're back from town with a few tag alongs. Seems they found a few new slayers wondering around LA."

Buffy and Angel looked at each other and sighed as the got their feet. Buffy let Angel walk ahead of her and she hissed at Faith as she walked passed, seeing her friend's conspiratorial smile.

"Nothing happened."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi again, sorry this took so long. Was on Holiday for a few days. It has been brought to my attention by several of my readers that I may not be being particularly fair to Cordy. With that in mind I'm going to try and write her character a little bit more realistically. I got a little carried away with the Cordy/Angel hatred and I apologize. I appreciate the honesty of the reviews though and hope that this short chapter is a little better for you. Let me know what you think.**

Buffy stopped in the corridor as she saw Cordy walking into her room and made a quick decision. She turned to Angel and flashed him a smile.

"Can you go on ahead, I'll be down in a second." Angel looked from Buffy, to the door that lead to Cordelia's room and back again. Looking a little unsure he nodded dumbly and followed Faith down the stairs. Giles could wait a few minutes. There had been a little friction between her and Cory since she had arrived here. Buffy wanted to sort this out, she knew what the source of the problem was and she wanted Cordy to understand that she wasn't a threat to her.

Buffy took a few deep breaths outside Cordy's room before knocking lightly. She heard Cordy utter a muffled

"Humph." From inside and took that as her invitation and walked in the room. Buffy stood in an awkward silence with Cordy staring at her for a few seconds, gathering her words in her head before speaking.

"Cordy…Are we OK?" She knew it was a stupid question. It was obvious that they weren't OK but she had to open the conversation up some how. "I'm sorry I had to come here and disrupt everything, but we really had nowhere else to go. I hadn't intended on staying around this long and…" Cordy cut her off.

"Do you love him?" She was sitting on the end of her bed, her fingers gripping the end of the mattress. Buffy felt like her stomach had just fell through the floor. She hadn't thought about him like that is such a long time. Then again, it was never a question that required much thought on her part. Buffy sighed,

"Of course I do. But There's this whole thing with Cookie Dough and…" She decided not to elaborate on the conversation they had in the cemetery. Cordy didn't need to know about that. She smiled at the former prom queen. "I'm not ready to be with him like that right now. Maybe not for quite a while. If being with you makes him happy then there isn't anything I can do about that." Cordy looked stunned by the revelation and sighed heavily, then chuckled quietly.

"I'm sorry." She said simply, getting to her feet, looking at the floor. "I guess I felt a little threatened. I was as surprised by what I felt for him as you were. I mean, for so long I couldn't ever imagine him as anything other then a friend then boom. One day he wasn't just a friend anymore. He was someone I couldn't imagine not seeing everyday. " She paused, screwing her face up in concentration, as if she had to force the next words out of her mouth. "He loves you, you know. He doesn't say anything to me, but I can see it. I saw it the second you walked in the room. He has this look in his eye that he saves especially for you. " He voice trailed off a little sad. Buffy stepped forward, putting her hand on Cordy's arm.

"I'd never do anything. I mean, I wouldn't ever tread on your toes. You guys had a good life here and it's a life I'm only starting to understand. I don't know where my place is in it, or if I even fit in it at all."

Cordy giggled again,

"You know we're both rambling right." Buffy nodded and grinned.

"Some things will never change." Cordy nodded,

"I've missed rambling. A good ramble is healthy for your soul.

The two girls were interrupted by Willow sticking her head in the door. She looked surprised to see the two women laughing with each other, then just smiled.

"I'm glad you guys worked it out." Buffy smiled warmly at her best friend,

"Thanks Will, was there something else?" Willow nodded soberly.

"Giles is demanding your presence in the lobby." Buffy nodded quickly. And followed Willow out the door, happy that she had at least one problem less to worry about.


	6. Chapter 6

I have Definitely been neglecting my writing duties of late. I ve been getting ready for university and all that jazz. But I m back now and I hope that I haven t lost my touch.  
Buffy stood at the top of the stairs the lead to the lobby. Everyone was staring rather intently at a group of five girls, which were sat on the round couch in the middle of the room. There was nothing special about the way they looked. They looked the same as any teenage girls. With more make up and attitude then they had sense. She sighed and walked down the stairs, just as Giles appeared from the kitchen carrying a tray off tea. Buffy had to smile at the familiarity off it. She then wiped the smile clean off her face and put on her authoritative voice.  
What do we have here? She asked walking up next to Angel who passed her five pieces of paper. Each an official, typed letter, and each baring the stationary of the new council of watchers. Buffy groaned and rolled her eyes, Angel smirked. You couldn t really expect them to stay out of this could you? Buffy sighed again and re-read each of the letters. They were all identical, each addressed to her and Angel. They told them the girls names, where they had come from and the extent their training had reached. She also noted that the postmark was dated two days before the phone call they had received from London. She was so angry she crumpled the letters with one hand and threw the creased mess into the waste paper basket by the desk.  
Anyway. She turned to the five rather anxious looking girls and tried to calm the anger she was sure was all over her face. I m Buffy and this is Angel. She motioned to him. He nodded his head slightly in their direction in way of acknowledgement. I know that this set up is a little less then ideal. But for the time being we ll all be staying here. The girls looked around them appreciatively. One of them, a small girl with black hair and a thick southern accent stood up and held out her hand,  
I m Laura. This is Hannah, Jade, Georgina and Kelly. Buffy shook the girl s hand and then eyed their suitcases.  
Xander, could help the girls upstairs to their rooms. Me, Angel and Giles have some things we need to talk about. She looked to Angel who nodded and lead her and Giles into his office behind the desk.  
Buffy sat on the edge of Angel s desk and stared through the glass in the door as Xander carried bags up the stairs, chatting happily with the girls as he went. Once Giles shut the door she turned to him.  
I don t even know where to start. Giles smiled weakly at her and Angel sighed.  
I think that was their intention. They want you to admit you made a mistake and for you to turn to them for help. Angel paused, then continued. Eventually we are going to end up with more girls then this place can hold. But until then, I suggest we get a system going. A routine. Buffy nodded, glad, as always for his cool head. Giles also seemed to agree.  
It s clear that these girls need training, but many of them are also going to need basic tutoring if they are ever going to get along in society. Buffy nodded again.  
That s were Fred and Willow would be handy. As for the training I think that between me, Angel and Faith we have the physical side down and you and Wes can deal with the book side of things. Both men in the room nodded. Angel rose from his desk.  
If I give Fred a broken down list of things that need to be covered she ll easily come up with a timetable by the end of the week. We should be up and running by Monday.  
That evening, Buffy had Andrew cook up a fantastic meal, so she could properly welcome the new girls to the group and apologize for her hasty exit earlier. A tall, statuesque Blonde, who introduced herself as Kelly smiled.  
That s OK. We heard what happened in Sunnydale and we know you must be under a lot of pressure. Not to mention probably tired, hungry and under bathed. All in all, totally acceptable. Buffy nodded at the new found acceptance and turned her attention back to Angel, who was sitting next to her.  
I don t know about you, but after the sun goes down I could use a little action, you got sewer access here? It was only when she noticed everyone staring at her oddly that she realised what she had said. Not that kind of action, the vampire and demon beating kind of action. She didn t know why she felt the need to explain herself but Angel looked unflustered regardless.  
Absolutely. I ll go get changed. Buffy smiled at him,  
I m right behind you. She gave Cordy a quick look, to make sure she was OK with them going out together. She rolled her eyes and nodded quickly.  
Go already. Buffy ran up the stairs to change into something a little more appropriate. She was part way through changing her top when the door to her bedroom opened.  
Sorry I should have knocked. Angel said turning his back to her immediately.  
That s OK. You can turn around now. Buffy said pulling a black T-Shirt over her head and moving to her closet to find a jacket. So, She added trying to relieve the awkward mood that had fallen over the room. Where do you keep you re pointy things? If the intention had been to distract herself by killing things she failed. The sewers and the usually busy areas of the city were all deserted. There wasn t a scale or a fang to be seen. Angel laughed at Buffy s disappointed face as they re-entered the hotel.  
They must have heard the slayer was in town Buffy stifled a yawn as she stored her broadsword back in the cabinet.  
How do they fin these things out anyways. And it s just plain rude not to allow me a little bit of stress relief don t you think. She barely finished her sentence before she yawned again.  
Angel sniggered and caught her just before her exhaustion caused her to fall flat.  
I think what our big brave slayer needs right now is sleep. You ve got fifty eager new recruits arriving in the morning and I don t think I can handle that many hormones by myself. Buffy smiled weakly leaning back onto his arms, causing him to support her whole weight. They took three steps before her legs gave out entirely. She laughed sleepily as he lifted her up.  
Guess I ve had a busy couple of weeks. She said letting her head fall against his chest.  
Did you sleep at all leading up to that fight? He asked juggling her weight as he started up the stairs. She shook her head lightly. He looked down at her to say something else to find that she had fallen fast asleep. Her hands wound into tight fists into his sweater.  
He Carefully opened the door to her room and laid her down on her bed. He tried in vain to get her fingers to loosen from his sweater to find that it was totally impossible. He sat for a few minutes on the edge of her bed watching her sleep before pulling he covers back and slipping them both under the sheets. She would have to let go sooner or later, until then, he was more then happy to lie with her. 


End file.
